Landlord trying to charge me £1700 in damages on rented property.

theartfullodger

Just take it through deposit dispute process.  Brought in, twice by parliament (second time to give the poor overworked landlords more than twice the time to do a simple bit of admin., after DECADES of greedy landlords ripping off tenants.

See (assuming England) 
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_get_your_deposit_back/dispute_unfair_deductions

Best wishes to all

HillStreetBlues

ripplyuk said:

The landlord isn’t entitled to ‘new’ anything, even if you or the cat damaged it. Raise a dispute with the deposit scheme and be sure to point out that the landlord is seeking betterment. If the carpets were eg 5yrs old when you moved in, then all he’s entitled to is the value of a 5yrs old carpet (minimal). For wear & tear, he’s not entitled to anything. 

I disagree with the above poster who believes it’s your responsibility to install extra heating. I find that absurd. If the landlord wants to avoid mould in this property, they should make sure the existing heating and insulation is adequate. 

It would be 10 year old carpet as OP would still have normal wear and tear in their 5 years.

Ratkin007

Not the answer to your questiion but it does sound like the landlord is trying it on. 

Was the property required to be licensed whilst you was living their? If it was required to be licensed was it licensed, because if it was not, you may be able to apply for a rent repayment order.  Have a look on your council website.  If it was just yourself/family in the property then check if they had a Selective licensing scheme and if it covered where you live.  

FlorayG

The mould issue is a difficult one, because you can claim that it's due to the property being damp and the LL can claim it's because you didn't ventilate it correctly. Only a full damp survey would find the real cause. As for the carpets, you are only responsible for the damaged one.
Scuff marks again are a grey issue - are they the sort of marks to be expected on a wall that hasn't been repainted in X years ( was it freshly painted when you moved in?) or are they clearly signs of tenant carelessness?

JKACLARK

Ratkin007 said:

Not the answer to your questiion but it does sound like the landlord is trying it on. 

Was the property required to be licensed whilst you was living their? If it was required to be licensed was it licensed, because if it was not, you may be able to apply for a rent repayment order.  Have a look on your council website.  If it was just yourself/family in the property then check if they had a Selective licensing scheme and if it covered where you live.  

Thanks for this info. I read up about it and apparently it only applies to people living in London. Which i do not

Ratkin007

Hey OP, I can assure you, licensing and rent repayment orders are not specifically for London.  

A large number of councils outside of London have selective licensing schemes, below is the link for Leicester as an example. 

https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-community/housing/landlords/selective-licensing/

In addition, information on rent payment order decisions can be found at the following site.  You'll be able to see there are loads of areas outside of London. 

https://www.gov.uk/residential-property-tribunal-decisions?tribunal_decision_category[]=housing-act-2004-and-housing-and-planning-act-2016 

If you haven't checked your own council site, just input the name of the council and selective licensing and it should provide any information if they have the scheme. 

Obviously it is possibly your council do not have a selective licensing scheme, which then makes the information of no use to yourself, but it is something worth knowing about. 🙂